Golf club carrier in the form of a trolley



Dec. 26, 1967 A. J. HUNT 3,350,279

GOLF CLUB CARRIER IN THE FORM OF A TROLLEY Filed April 6, 1966 3Sheets-Sheet l l n venlor' Dec. 26, 1967 i N 3,360,279 I I GOLF CLUBCARRIER IN THE FORM OF A TROLLEY Filed April 6, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2United States Patent Office 3,360,279 Patented Dec. 26, 1967 3,360,279GOLF CLUB CARRIER IN THE FORM OF A TROLLEY Arthur John Hunt, 24 ChartLane, Reigate, England Filed Apr. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 540,708 Claimspriority, application Great Britain, Apr. 9, 1965, 15,283/ 65 7 Claims.(Cl. 280-35) This invention relates to an improved form of golf clubcarrier.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a golf club carrierwhich permits golf clubs carried by the carrier to be more easilyremoved from and replaced on the carrier than has been possible withcarriers hitherto available.

Another object is to provide such a golf club carrier with anundercarriage which is easier to wheel over rough ground, and which ismore stable when being wheeled over rough ground, than those hithertoavailable.

According to the invention there is provided a golf club carriercomprising a shaft structure mountable on an undercarriage and includingrungs through which iron clubs are threaded to be held thereby, therungs being spaced apart to engage the threaded clubs in the region ofthe heads and handles thereof as well as in the region of the middle ofthe club shafts, and a support rung on which the club heads aresupported, the support rung being inclined towards the lower end of theshaft struc ture and including an element arranged to arrest the head ofa club sliding down the support rung thereby to ensure nesting of theclub heads resting on the support rung and consequential separation ofthe shafts to make each shaft handle readily available.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, preferredembodiments thereof will nOW be described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a front elevation of a golf club carrier, ,in combinationwith an undercarriage to form a trolley,

FIGURE 2 shows a side elevation of the carrier shown in FIGURE 1, thefull lines depicting the handle and the undercarriage of the trolley inan extended position and the phantom lines depicting the handle in afully folded position and the undercarriage in a partially foldedposition,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the trolley shown in FIGURES 1 and 2,taken from the rear of the trolley,

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of the carrier, and pFIGURE 5 is'a side elevation of FIGURE 4.

In the drawings like references refer to like or similar parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the golf club carrier shown therein is in theform of a trolley including a shaft structure constituted by twostraight and parallel side members 1 and 2. The members 1 and 2 of theshaft structure are connected by a group of three straight and paralleldownwardly inclined rungs 3, 4 and 5 extending between the two sidemembers 1 and 2.

Of the rungs 3, 4 and 5 the rung 3 is fnred in the plane of the shaftstructure members 1 and 2, the rung 4 is fixed on the lower side of theshaft structure members 1 and 2 and the rung 5 is fixed on the upperside of the shaft structure members 1 and 2.

Below the group of rungs 3, 4 and 5 is a support rung 6 which isJ-shaped and is fixed between the two shaft structure members 1 and 2with the longer straight part of the J-shaped rung 6 inclined in thesame direction as each of the rungs 3, 4 and 5.

In FIGURE 1 of the drawings, six iron golf clubs, in dicated generallyat 7, are shown threaded through the group of three rungs 3, 4 and 5.The rungs 3, 4 and 5 are spaced apart so that the rung 3 engages theshafts of all the threaded clubs near their handles, the mug 4 engagesthe shafts near the middles of the shafts, and the rung 5 engages theshafts near the club heads so that the clubs 7 are held by the rungs 3,4 and 5 to the carmet.

In order to remove any one of the clubs 7 from the carrier, the club isdrawn upwards by its handle until the head of the club is above the rung5, and then the handle of the club can be moved rearwards and the headof the club can be withdrawn between the rungs 3 and 4. In order toreplace the club in the carrier the reverse action is carried out, thatis, the head of the club is threaded from the rear, first between thetwo rungs 3 and 4 and then down between the rungs 4 and 5, until theclub head contacts the J-shaped support rung 6.

If the clubs are left-handed clubs the support rung 6 is arranged asshown in FIGURE 1, and then the club is replaced always on theright-hand side of the trolley as shown in FIGURE 1, so that the clubhead comes into contact with the longer straight portion of the supportrung 6 and slides down the longer straight portion of the support rung 6towards the curved part of the support rung 6. The curved configurationof the left-hand end of the rung 6 provides an integral portion upturnedfrom the lower end of the rung to act as a stop and ensure that the clubheads are nested together and as a result of the nesting of the clubheads the shafts of the clubs are separated, which makes each handlereadily available for removal of the club from the carrier. 7 Thecarrier shown in the drawings may be adapted to contain right-handedclubs by reversing the inclination of the group of rungs 3, 4 and 5 andby reversing the support rung 6 so that the curved part of the supportrung 6 lies on the right-hand side, .in the view shown in FIGURE 1. Inthis way nesting of right-handed clubs is assured.

The nesting of the club heads produced by a J-shaped support rung alsoensures that the clubs are not thrown from side to side when the carrieris used over rough ground.

The upper ends of the shaft structure members 1 and 2 are connected by acrossbar 8 and the lower ends are connected by a cross-member 9. To eachof the members 1 and 2 a pair of cylindrical tubes 10 and 11 is attachedby means of a former 12, FIG. 3, which holds the upper ends of the tubesand is fixed by a bolt 13 to the side member 1, and a cap 14 whichcloses the bottom ends of both tubes and is fixed to an end of thecross-member 9. The tubes 10 and 11 may be made of any suitableindustrial plastics material, or metal such as an aluminium alloy orsheet steel, and are intended to contain wood clubs, the shafts of whichare inserted into the tubes. It will be appreciated that the tubes maybe circular, square or rectangular in cross section.

A U-shaped handle 15 which forms an extension of the shaft structure andby which the carrier is to be pulled, is pivoted on the crossbar 8.

Notches 16 are formed in the two straight arms 17 and 18 of the handle15, close to the crossbar 8, and these notches are so positioned as toengage with respective threaded studs 19 which project inwardly from theupper ends of the side members 1 and 2 when the handle is raised fromthe folded position on the front of the carrier, as shown in phantomlines in FIGURE 2, to the extended position.

When the handle 15 is in the extended position, nuts 21 on the studs 19are tightened to clamp the handle 15 in the extended position. In orderto give the player a firm hold on the handle 15, a grip 22 which may beof rubber or plastics material is provided.

The handle may alternatively be held in the extended position byspring-loaded pins projecting inwardly from the upper ends of the shaftstructure members 1 and 2 to engage in respective sockets in the handle15, the pins being withdrawn against the spring pressure to allowfolding of the handle.

An undercarriage provided with wheels 23 is pivoted to the shaftstructure of the carrier so as to be let down when the carrier is inuse, or to be folded back when the loaded carrier is to be transported,e.g., by car.

The two sides of the undercarriage are identical and so for clarity onlyone side will be described.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings, each side of theundercarriage includes a strut 24 which is pivoted at its upper end 25on a lug 26 fixed to one of the side members 1 and 2 of the shaftstructure. An arm 27 carries one of the running wheels 23 at itstrailing end 28 and is pivoted, at a point between the ends of the armon the end of a cross-member 29 which passes through the lower ends ofthe struts 24. The leading end 30 of the arm 27 is connected by a spring31 to a peg 32 fixed to the respective lug 26.

A locking strut 33 is pivoted at its lower end on the cross-member 29between the arm 27 and strut 24. Each locking strut 33 is formed with anotch 34, FIGURE 2, near its upper end, which notch is brought intoengagement with a screw clamp 35 mounted on a lug 36 on the shaftstructure members 1 and 2. When it is desired to clamp the undercarriagein its extended position, the screw clamp 35 is then tightened and thecarrier is ready for use.

It will be appreciated that the undercarriage may be folded in acollapsed position to facilitate stowing the carrier in a car or thelike for transport. In this event, the clamps 35 are loosened so thatthe notched portions 34 of the struts 33 may be removed therefrom, andthe struts 24 may be pivoted about their connections with the lugs 26until the cross member 29 or the lower pivoted ends of the struts 33engage the carrier body. In FIG. 2, the undercarriage is shown inphantom lines in a partially collapsed position in which the lower ends28 of the arms 27 have substantially engaged the tubes 11. In theillustrated position, the struts 24 and 33 are still in the angularrelationship as shown in full lines, but further pivoting of the struts24 will cause the arms 27 and struts 33 to swing upwardly until they aresubstantially parallel with the tubes 11 and the struts 24 are parallelwith the side members 1 and 2. In this position, the notches 34 canstraddle the base portions of the pegs 32.

Instead of the notch and clamp arrangement for securing the upper endsof the locking struts, the upper ends of the struts may be adapted topermanently engage with slides fixed one along each shaft structuremember 1 and 2, with clamps to clamp the struts in any required positionon the slides.

An abutment 37, FIGURE 3, at the lower end of each of the locking struts33 limits the possible movement of the arms 27 in an anti-clockwisedirection so as to positively locate the arms 27 against the tension ofthe springs 31 when the weight of the carrier is supported by the wheels23, the strength of the springs 31 being such as to allow the arms 27 topivot away from the abutments 37 against the tension of the springs 31when the wheels 23 contact bumps or holes when the carrier is in use.

Such a spring undercarriage makes the carrier more stable in use, byabsorbing the effect of bumps or holes in the ground, and also allows anarrower wheel track to be employed than is required to preventoverturning of the carrier if a rigid undercarriage is used.

The carrier is provided on one side with a strap 38 and a cup 39 so thatan umbrella may be conveniently carried on the carrier.

One or more containers for golf balls or other articles may be fitted tothe front of the carrier, and a cover may also be attached to keep rainoff the club handles during rainy weather. Alternatively, a waterproofbonnet can be slipped over the carrier handle 15 and the club handles toprotect them from rain.

It will be appreciated that a golf club carrier in the form of a trolleyas described offers many advantages over golf club carrying arrangementsat present in use. Such arrangements consists of a bag containing thegolf clubs, and a separate wheeled carriage to which the bag must besecured, for example by means of straps.

A golf club carrier in the form of a trolley as described hereineliminates the need for a bag for the golf clubs, since the clubs areheld in the trolley itself and thus the cost of the bag and theinconvenience of attaching the bag to a separate carriage are avoided.Furthermore, the present trolley is lighter to wheel round the golfcourse and the spring undercarriage incorporated in the preferredembodiment of the invention increases the stability of the trolley whenin use by minimising the effect of irregularities in the ground. Thestability of the trolley as described is further enhanced by the clubsbeing held heads downwards in the trolley, so that the centre of gravityof the loaded trolley is considerably lower than that of previouscarrying arrangements, in which the clubs are carried with their headsupwards.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a modified form of the carrier which can befitted with an undercarriage of the kind described above or with anyother suitable form of undercarriage. In this embodiment of theinvention the rung 3 described above is omitted and the rung 4' isdisposed to be at right angles to the shaft structure members 1 and 2.Further, the support rung 6 is straight, instead of J-shaped, and isprovided with a stop pin 6a which is screwed into, or otherwise securedto, the rung 6. The stop pin 6a arrests the club heads which slide downthe rung 6'.

Also in this embodiment of the invention a flap 4a is pivoted above therung 4' and means is operable to retain the flap in a position, asindicated in FIG. 5, relative to the shaft structure such as to guidethe head of a club past the rung 4' as the club is withdrawn from thecarrier. The said means may consist of a torsion spring 40 also fittedround the rung 4', or it may consist of stops, not shown, fitted on theframe of the undercarriage and behind which the free edge of the flap islocated when the trolley is prepared for use. The flap 4a, which may bemade of any suitable material, not only serves as a guide for the headof a club as just described but also, when the trolley is folded up forstorage or transport rests against the shafts of the clubs and pressesthem against the rung 5 thus acting to restrain the clubs againstmovement thereof towards the top of the carrier.

I claim:

1. A golf club carrier comprising a shaft structure mountable on anundercarriage and including rungs through which iron clubs are threadedto be held thereby, the rungs being spaced apart to engage the threadedclubs in the region of the heads and handles thereof as well as in theregion of the middle of the club shafts, and a support rung on which theclub heads are supported, the support rung being inclined towards thelower end of the shaft structure and including an element arranged toarrest the head of a club sliding down the support rung thereby toensure nesting of the club heads resting on the support rung andconsequential separation of the shafts to make each shaft handle readilyavailable.

2. A golf club carrier according to claim 1, wherein said element is astop pin secured to the support rung.

3. A golf club carrier according to claim 1, wherein said element isintegral with the support rung and comprises a portion upturned from thelower end of the support rung.

4. A golf club carrier according to claim 1, including a flap pivoted tothe rung engageable with the clubs in the region of the middle of theclub shafts, and means operable to retain the flap in a positionrelative to the shaft structure such as to guide the head of a club pastsaid rung as the club is withdrawn from the carrier.

5. A golf club carrier according to claim 1, in combination with anundercarriage including running wheels and pivotal means by which theundercarriage is pivoted to the shaft structure to enable theundercarriage to be let down when the trolley formed by the combinationis in use or folded back when the loaded trolley is to be transported.

6. A golf club carrier according to claim 5, wherein the undercarriageincludes two struts, one end of each strut being pivoted on a respectiveside of the shaft structure, and two arms, each arm being pivoted, at apoint between its ends, on a horizontal pivot at the other end of arespective strut, each arm carrying a running wheel at its trailing end,and the leading end of each arm being References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,486,655 3/1924 Gourley 211- 60 1,678,353 7/1928 Reach 2116O2,858,140 10/1958 Stamp 28036 3,147,988 9/1964 Schairer 280-47.19

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

20 J. SIEGEL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A GOLF CLUB CARRIER COMPRISING A SHAFT STRUCTURE MOUNTABLE ON ANUNDERCARRIAGE AND INCLUDING RUNGS THROUGH WHICH IRON CLUBS ARE THREADEDTO BE HELD THEREBY, THE RUNGS BEING SPACED APART TO ENGAGE THE THREADEDCLUBS IN THE REGION OF THE HEADS AND HANDLES THEREOF AS WELL AS IN THEREGION OF THE MIDDLE OF THE CLUB SHAFTS, AND A SUPPORT RUNG ON WHICH THECLUB HEADS ARE SUPPORTED, THE SUPPORT RUNG BEING INCLINED TOWARDS THELOWER END